English

Etymology
Latin aberratio: compare French aberration. See aberrate|Aberrate

Pronunciation
audio|en-us-aberration.ogg|Audio (US)

Noun
en-noun

1. The act of wandering; deviation, especially from truth or moral rectitude, from the natural state, or from a type.

#:*The aberration of youth - Hall
#:*Aberrations from theory - Burke

1. A partial alienation of reason.

#:*Occasional aberrations of intellect - Lingard
#:*Whims, which at first are the aberrations of a single brain, pass with heat into epidemic form - I. Taylor

1. astronomy A small periodical change of position in the stars and other heavenly bodies, due to the combined effect of the motion of light and the motion of the observer.
2. context|optics The convergence to different focus|foci, by a lens or mirror, of rays of light emanating from one and the same point, or the deviation of such rays from a single focus.
3. physiology The passage of blood or other fluid into parts not appropriate for it.
4. law The producing of an unintended effect by the glancing of an instrument, as when a shot intended for A glances and strikes B.
5. context|zoology|botany atypical development or structure

Synonyms
insanity|Insanity; lunacy; madness; derangement; alienation; mania; dementia; hallucination; illusion; delusion. See insanity|Insanity.

Derived terms
spherical aberration
Translations
rfc-trans
Finnish: poikkeavuus, poikkeama, poikkeaminen, erehdys (1,2), optinen aberraatio (4)
French: aberration
German: Abweichung
Hungarian: aberráció
Irish: seachrán m1 (1,2), iomrall m1 (1,2,3,4)
Interlingua: aberration
Italian: aberrazione
Norwegian: avvik n, villfarelse c
Portuguese: aberração
Spanish: aberración
; astronomy

German: Aberration f
mid

; optics

German: Aberration f
mid

Translations to be checked
checktrans
ttbc|Vietnamese: sự lầm lạc, phút lầm lạc, sự kém trí khôn, sự khác thư�ng, quang sai, tính sai

ar:aberration
be:aberration
de:aberration
el:aberration
fa:aberration
fr:aberration
io:aberration
id:aberration
it:aberration
pt:aberration
ru:aberration
fi:aberration
sv:aberration
ta:aberration
vi:aberration
uk:aberration
zh:aberration

• 2007-12-22 17:19 - Keene - spherical

Full Revision History